Catherine's Story
by Procyonpaw
Summary: Follow Alfred and his adopted daughter of Delaware  an OC , Catherine, throughout the Revolutionary War as they fight in the endeavor for freedom.  Based on America Cleans Out His Closet.  Drama, Romance, Adventure
1. Draw A Circle

**Author's Note: **Hi! This story loosely follows the canon Axis Powers: Hetalia storyline of America Cleaning Out His Closet. In other words, this story will follow Alfred as he gains his independence from Arthur, as well as following Alfred's adopted daughter, Catherine, our OC representing the colony of Delaware, and how she came to be Alfred's very first state. More Canon characters, such as Arthur, Francis and Antonio will appear in Part 2.

Alfred adopts colonies as his children, so they are not biological children; this is signified by the last name "Jones."

This story is a little more serious than the others, and it parodies a lot of movies as of late. So, have fun, we hope you enjoy reading this. And thanks for reading!

~Written by Sentimeter233, Story by Procyonpaw

Catherine's Story

Characters / Human Name List:

America: Alfred F. Jones

Delaware: Catherine Minner Jones

Male!Delaware: Jonathan

Male!New York: Alexander

New York: Alexis Turner

England: Arthur Kirkland

The time was 1776…

Catherine Minner Jones, after spending the long day in New York visiting her friend, was tidying up her small colonial house. She looked outside at the beautiful, snowy scenery of the near-Christmas season as she pedantically organized the house and prepared for bed. Earlier that day, she had gone to New York to see her friend, Alexis, and had picked up some supplies on the way back to her home in Delaware. Despite the ongoing Revolutionary war, she wanted to keep everything prim and proper.

While in New York, Catherine and Alexis had discussed that War. The two were very good friends, but they had completely opposite viewpoints.

"War is evil," Alexis scoffed. "That's that. Arthur's just been ignorant, he hasn't been bad to us." Catherine's face softened.

Arthur, otherwise known as the mighty Nation of England, had raised Alfred and his colonies, who were collectively known as America. Catherine herself was, in fact one of Alfred's colonies as Delaware, hence her adopted last name of Jones. But lately, Arthur had to leave Alfred quite often because of his duties back in his home country.

Alfred was not happy about this. He wished to be his own nation, free from regulation, and he had started a war to achieve that very objective.

Catherine knew that Alexis' boyfriend, Alexander, though on temporary leave, now, was in that war as a Captain, fighting alongside Alfred. Alexis must have been so worried for him. _That must also be why she doesn't like the war,_ Catherine assumed.

Of course, Catherine did not like war, either. She knew much could be just propaganda-driven violence, and she always looked down upon fighting and killing. But this time, she felt the reason behind it was for a greater cause. For a greater purpose. A land of the free.

So, Catherine did her best to support as much as she could. With some help from a friend from Maryland, she had sewn clothes and uniforms for soldiers as her personal contribution to the effort. She wasn't terribly good with a needle, so her left hand was always wrapped up in cloth to stop the bleeding. Neither was she very efficient at sewing; her friend from Maryland had often finished two uniforms in the time it would take Catherine to finish one.

But still, she was content. She had done her best. She contributed to her cause. And as long as she had done that, she was happy.

As a matter of fact, as she finished tidying up her house, she decided to finish up the final stitchings on a new, _special, _crisp uniform she had been making, ever since Alexis and Alexander had been together; it was for someone she hoped to see again very soon. Alexis had once teased her about not having a steady boyfriend yet.

Catherine already had a lover, though. He was a sweet boy and a very hard worker, by the name of Jonathan. He, like Alexander was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, but despite his status as a Captain, he didn't come off as a commanding, authoritarian type of person. He was very tall, with long brown hair, tied off in a black bow behind his neck. Plus, he seemed much too quiet, nervous and demure to be commanding troops and fighting for their would-be country.

But for some reason, he was. Alfred seemed to see something in him that only he could see, thought Catherine, as she accidentally pricked herself again in the thumb. She blushed and kept sewing the new Uniform for Jonathan. He was currently away with Alexander on a mission, so when he got back for Christmas, she would give it to him.

As another bonus to look forward to, Catherine had made Jonathan promise to go to a Christmas dance with her before he left with Alexander on the mission about a month ago. Even though the young couple had lived together for a long time, they were always hard at work (Jonathan was a Captain under Alfred, and Catherine worked as a doctor-in-training), so finding time for each other was not always easy. But that made the time they did have together extra special.

_The Jacket and the Dance, all in time for Christmas_, she thought as she looked through the window at the royal blue night sky and prepared for bed. She only had to wait a little bit more.

**XxX**

But the very next day, someone appeared at her home that she did not expect. Alexander, who was limping for some reason, arrived on her doorstep with a very grave look on his face. _Why would Alexis' boyfriend come to me? _Catherine knew it had to be serious, because a fellow Captain from New York would not travel to Delaware over a trivial matter.

"Alexander?" she asked, concerned for what he could want. "What brings you here so early? Please, come in, I'll get you something warm to drink if you like…"

"N-no thank you," he coughed, and looked up to see Catherine's worried face, which, he could tell, knew something was wrong. Swallowing hard, Alexander handed her a letter that looked half-finished with a seal from the Revolutionary forces, signed by Alfred.

Catherine immediately began to assume the worst. "I thought you should have been the first to know…" He began.

**XxX**

The Revolutionary forces under Alfred always sent letters to the friends or families of soldiers who were killed in the War as a custom, to notify them that their loved one was dead.

Catherine caught a small glimpse of the letter in Alexander's hands. It looked like it was one of those Death Notices from the Revolutionary War. If Jonathan had been killed or mortally wounded, she would get the letter, because the two had lived together for awhile and most of Jonathan's family was gone.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached for the letter that Alexander held.

"Catherine," Alexander started. "…You're my friend and I don't know how to say this, so I will try to say it as carefully as I can.

…On our returning mission, Jonathan was wounded."

She brought her hands to her face. "Oh my God…" she whispered.

"He and I were sent for orders from Alfred, but we were ambushed by the English along the way. We managed to drive them off, but Jonathan was shot in the chest. We carried him to the nearest hospital, but he's paralyzed and could very likely not survive…" Alexander spoke as slowly and calmly as he could, but to no avail. Catherine looked down teary-eyed, shaking her head, crying "No, no, no…"

Alexander held out the letter. "I took this before Alfred could officially send it to you. I was afraid that you would want to see him as soon as possible, so I thought I'd give it to you personally. You should be the first to know."

Catherine took the incomplete letter with shaking hands and read it slowly, several times, as if the words wouldn't sink in. A solid minute had passed before Alexander trusted himself to start talking again.

"The hospital is not far from here. I can take you there now," Alexander explained. Head bowed and crying, Catherine whispered:

"Thank you…"

"We must hurry, though. For all I know, he could already be…" Alexander didn't finish, because he caught a glimpse of Catherine's wistful face. "We should go now."

Catherine nodded, taking the uniform she had completed for Jonathan, and walked off with Alexander, hoping that they would not be too late.

**XxX**

_This is the worst horseback journey of my life,_ Alexander thought to himself as the pair rode off towards the hospice for wounded soldiers. Though the actual distance of the journey was not terribly long, he felt like it was an eternity. Partially because of the pace, but mostly because Catherine would not stop asking questions about the War and Jonathan's health.

Catherine wanted to get to the infirmary as soon as humanly possible, but Alexander revealed several open graze wounds on his leg that prevented him from riding fast. He had gotten that wound from the same mission when Jonathan was shot. On an added note, Alexander explained that he, too, should be in a different hospital in Maryland, but escaped, limping on one foot in order to find Catherine.

She seemed like she had gotten most of her composure back, but she would… _just… not… shut up,_ thought Alexander. Still, he decided he'd grin and bear it. He knew _he _would.

**XxX**

Upon their arrival, it was getting dark, but Catherine insisted that they find Jonathan as soon as possible.

"He's a Captain," Catherine had told Alexander. "How hard could it be to find him?" She ran off, and Alexander considered calling after her, but didn't. She probably wouldn't hear him over her worries. Plus, his wounded leg impeded his walking abilities.

But as Catherine entered the infirmary, her breath hitched. The large rooms were _full_ of wounded people. It was horrifying.

Several people were missing limbs, bleeding profusely, and sprawled over their beds. They looked like they were ghosts of their former selves, hollowed out by the war, and traumatized by their experiences. Medical equipment was cluttered everywhere and the workers were scrambling every which way. The aura of pain and suffering was overwhelming in the room, as she looked around, trying to look past the poor soldiers. How was she going to find Jonathan like this?

The chaos and the awful sights and sounds also made her reconsider her view of the war. How could all these lives be worth the cause?

"Look out!" Her mind was brought back to reality as a nurse carrying several crates of bandages and medicines accidentally ran into her. Caught off guard, they both fell down as the crates spilled all over the floor. Catherine picked herself up and helped the nurse to her feet, who was scrambling for a checklist that she dropped.

"S-sorry, ma'am," Catherine said, while hastily picking up the dropped bandages and crates.

"It's fine," the Nurse automatically mumbled the reply, not looking up from the checklist that she dropped. "I have to get these bandages to the newer arrivals. Next would be a Captain named Jonathan… Another Captain was wounded? That's two this week and it's only the beginning! Soon, everyone here who lives will be back in the war, because we can't afford to have any more losses…" She trailed off, as Catherine paused in handing her the crates.

"Jonathan? Which room is he in?" Catherine asked, apprehensively, feeling somewhat fortunate that she found someone that could help.

"This way, I'm headed there now," The Nurse responded, as she took the crates down a dimly lit hall.

As they walked, Catherine still could not keep her eyes off the pain and suffering she saw the soldiers going through. She had no idea the magnitude of suffering was this severe. She even saw soldiers that were younger than her near death.

"Will they live?" she asked quietly.

"…Probably not," the Nurse explained in a low voice. "We can't tell at this point, but I wouldn't expect most of them to pull through. Even if they get better here, they risk death again going back to war. We can only pray that this War will end soon…" Catherine swallowed hard. This was definitely disheartening news.

They approached Jonathan's room, and with sweating hands, Catherine reached for the handle.

_Alexander fell behind_, Catherine thought before she entered the room. _Must be his leg._

Taking a breath, she closed her eyes and opened the door, praying that Jonathan might still be alive. When she had finally built up enough nerve, she opened her eyes again.

Jonathan's body was spread over his bed, as if he were a rag doll. His chest was completely wrapped in white bandages, and his head was propped up by a pillow. The bandages were stained a deep scarlet, and his eyes remained closed. His skin's pallor was paler than normal, and he looked as if he was frozen.

"Paralyzed. All of him, except for his head and right arm," the Nurse recited off of her checklist. _No other part of him could move._ Catherine covered her mouth and put a hand on her stomach, thinking she may have thrown up from seeing him in that horrible condition.

As the nurse left the crates there, applying a new bandage to Jonathan and quietly left, Alexander had finally caught up and walked reverently into the room.

"…Now do you see why Alexis hates War so much?" He asked in a distant voice, gesturing to Jonathan's body. "To lose someone so close to you…" His voice trailed off as he sat down, taking a bandage off a nearby counter for his leg, right as Jonathan came to and opened his eyes ever so slightly.

Slowly, Jonathan managed to turn his head to see his visitors. His eyes widened, slightly. "C-Catherine? Is that you…?" he managed to say, softly.

"Yes," she replied, quietly, clenching Jonathan's _right_ hand; the one which wasn't paralyzed. "It's me." She attempted to smile, but couldn't, as she wiped a tear off her face.

Jonathan also tried to give a smile. Attempting to lighten the mood, he said: "I'm… gonna need a rain check on that dance," He tried to laugh, but ended up coughing instead.

"The dance…" she reminisced. "Of course… Christmas Eve at eight in the Brooklyn Club. It's going to be great… Don't you dare be late." Again she found her hands at her eyes wiping away tears.

"Yeah. But… you'll have to teach me to dance. I still don't know how." Jonathan closed his eyes.

"I'll teach you. Just be there. We'll both be there, the two of us. Together." Catherine bumbled over the last word. If Jonathan were to pass on then and there, she wanted to be sure they would be focusing on a happy thought.

"We'll ask for something slow… maybe a ballad or something. I wouldn't want to step… o…n y…" Jonathan's body went limp as he passed out. Thankfully, Catherine could still hear his faint, peaceful breathing. She clenched his hand, bringing it to her face, as she then placed it gently at his side, kissing her own hand and gently touching his cheek with that hand, moving a lock of hair out of his closed eyes.

She mouthed the words "Be safe," through her upset face as she felt a slight migraine coming through her head as her skin turned pale.

Catherine was not a strong person; she knew these mild, recurring sicknesses well. These slight fevers, she knew, were the result of long-term stress that she imposed upon herself. Dizzy, she pulled up a seat next to the bedside.

Finally, Alexander spoke up, noticing Catherine's unhealthy pallor.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "You look like you have a fever!"

Her platinum dirty-blonde hair in her eyes, she nodded ever so slightly. "Well," Alexander got up and steadied himself, walking for the door. "I'm going to see if a nurse has some medicine for you. Maybe I can get some more bandages for my leg, too." He opened it and trotted into the hallway, finally easing the tension in the room.

Catherine gazed at the wall of the room, tears forming in her eyes. She thought back to what the nurse had said: Any soldier in the hospital, after basic healing, would be sent back to the war immediately. It wasn't fair. There was no way she would let Jonathan go back into danger right after he got better, provided he healed at all. He couldn't go back.

She would make sure he didn't go back to war. That, she vowed. She would do anything in her power to keep Jonathan from the battle, even if it meant taking him out of the hospital by force. _Even if it meant being a soldier in Jonathan's place. _But how?

Looking around the room, she saw Jonathan's rifle from the Revolutionary war on a table, sitting with equipment. She was no gun connoisseur, but she knew enough about the rifle from watching Jonathan or Alfred occasionally, visiting the camps every so often. Walking over to the table with a hand on her tired head, she picked up the weapon and held it aimed at a wall.

It was heavier than she would have guessed, and it was cumbersome. Still, it was going to have to do. She was going to spirit Jonathan away from the hospital by force. _No, this is a bad idea,_ she thought, hands shaking. _I must be out of my mind…but I will keep him safe._

Her mind was made up. She was going to keep him away from the war by taking him out of the hospital. It was absurd, but she was going to protect the one she loved.

"Don't worry, Jonathan," Catherine said, preparing to carry out her plan. "I'm going to get you out of here," she said as she went out the door, ready to cause some chaos.

**XxX**

Alexander had found some headache relief and some more bandages from a nurse, and was on his way back to the room, but for some reason, the whole hospice seemed even more distressed than usual. People were screaming and running every which way, some even trying to escape into a nearby exit.

Confused at what was happening, he didn't see another panicked nurse run into him. He stopped her, and held her shoulders with his arms. After a minute of telling her to calm down, Alexander finally managed to get some legible words out of her.

"What's going on? Is this a drill or something?" he asked as the nurse looked at him with wide eyes.

"I-it's crazy! S-someone is trying to take a soldier out of the hospital by force!" the flustered nurse responded, pointing behind Alexander. He chuckled a little bit upon hearing this. _Ridiculous,_ he thought. _Someone would have to be apocalyptically __**thick**__ to think they could take someone out of the hospital by force. _Still, he decided to humor the nurse by turning around to see what she was hysterically pointing at.

Alexander turned around, but immediately, his eyes, too, went wide.

He saw Catherine, armed with Jonathan's rifle, who was trying to carry him on a padded bed with wheels, out of the hospital. She had already made her way out to the main doors, brandishing the rifle every which way, all the while causing doctors and nurses to hide and panic.

"Oh, my, goodness…" Alexander whispered. "No way. I don't believe it. How has she done that? Is that even possible?"

The nurse looked back at Alexander. "Do you know that girl?" she asked.

Still looking back at Catherine, Alexander responded "No idea," as he then made his way outside for his own rifle as fast as he could, which was with his horse that he arrived on. He was going to have to get her attention if they were going to clear up this mess.

Already, Alexander was trying to think up an excuse to explain to the doctors, as well as a plan to calm Catherine down. But he didn't get the chance, as someone loudly interrupted his thoughts.

"HEY!" Alexander heard a voice yell. He turned his head from the commotion to see who it was, as a blonde man with_out_ glasses and a certain hair curl confronted the commotion, after disembarking from his mount.

_Oh, shit _thought Alexander. It was the self-proclaimed hero himself, and the leader and reason behind the Revolutionary War, Alfred F. Jones. _What was he doing here?_ Once Alfred started talking, Alexander knew he wouldn't be able to help her out of this mess. _Sorry, Catherine. As a Captain, I can only answer to him. _

"What in the heroic name of me is going on over here?" Alfred said, gesturing over to the scene of Catherine's. Immediately, Catherine aimed the rifle at Alfred. She wasn't giving up easily.

Alfred strided over to Catherine and Jonathan, shocked. "Catherine? Is that you? What are you d—"

Boom.

He was cut off by a gunshot from the gun. The bullet sailed _dangerously_ close to Alfred's face, which he miraculously managed to move out of the way of the path. As for Catherine, the recoil from the rifle had knocked it out of her hands, and nearly knocked her down.

"HOLY SH—" Alfred started, but he noticed the panicked nurses and wounded soldiers everywhere, so he decided to tone it down. Alexander had managed to limp his way over to Alfred, who attempted to explain the situation, but didn't get the chance.

"I come all the way down here, to _Delaware_ in order to check on my wounded Captains, and this is what I find?" asked Alfred. _So he had come to check on us,_ Alexander thought. "You, Alexander, running off from a hospital with a damaged leg in the dead of Winter!

"And you," Alfred then turned to Catherine. "One of my own _colonies_, you, Catherine. I thought you were my most mature colony. What in the _world_ do you think you're doing?"

Catherine looked around at the big commotion she had caused, and then glanced down in shame. After several minutes, she found her response. "I was worried about him, that's all. I wasn't thinking. And I got frustrated…" She answered after assessing her guilt.

"So you decided to stick up the whole hospital?" Alfred asked in a softer tone. "Are you _mad_? What would that accomplish? You couldn't take care of Jonathan well, even though you are learning to be a doctor."

Alfred gestured to Jonathan's body, peacefully resting at the front of the hospital next to them. "I need him to heal. I need Alexander to heal. That's why I came down here, to check on them. And I can't afford to lose any more soldiers, let alone my captains! They need to come back to the fight as soon as they heal!"

Catherine looked appalled by what Alfred just said. "I know it sounds criminal to send them into harm's way as soon as they heal, but we can't afford to lose more soldiers, and I have very little control over it. Jonathan needs to stay here." Alfred finished.

Alfred could see the look of sheer disapproval on Catherine's face. She knew she was not going to win this argument, so Alfred turned to leave. She had failed. Now, her only hope of keeping Jonathan safe was…

Catherine ran after Alfred. "Commander Jones!" She called after him. "COMMANDER! You can't put him back in the war like that~! Let me join the Revolution in Jonathan's place!"

Still walking off, Alfred responded. "No. End of discussion."

"PLEASE, Commander! Let me do my part! All I've ever done is sit around hoping for war to end! Meanwhile, people lay down their _lives_ for freedom! I have no right to do any less than that!"

"BE QUIET!" Alfred yelled, turning around, and taking Catherine aback, who flinched at the sudden outburst. She had never seen Alfred with this intense of a character before. Had being at war hardened his character?

"You clearly don't understand the gravity of war! You are my colony and I will not risk losing you to Arthur and the Englishmen. You are too valuable to put on the battlefield!" Alfred continued. "Furthermore, there are absolutely NO women allowed in the Militia! You are NOT going to war, Catherine Minner Jones!"

Catherine swallowed hard, her eyes tearing up while taking in what she had just heard. Alexander looked as if he were about to raise his hand to support her case, but Alfred simply glared back, as if he were daring Alexander to go against his word again.

So Alexander kept his point to himself. He actually knew of some women who had joined the Revolutionary forces as soldiers disguised as men, but never before had a woman actually impersonated a Captain. Despite his knowing of several of these, he decided that this would be a _bad_ time to bring it up.

"Come on, Alexander," Alfred said, gesturing to him. "I'm finished here. Let's go chain you to a hospital until you heal, if need be, and let's get me to Yorktown already."

As Alfred stalked off, he muttered to himself: "To think. A nineteen-year-old girl who already wants to have at her share of Englishmen. A nineteen-year-old girl who wants to kill REDCOATS!" As he started to mount his ride, he heard Catherine's sober voice.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Alfred heard her voice say, while she simply stared at the ground. "I just want to be free."

He stopped upon hearing those words.

…_Arthur! I'm not your little brother anymore! I want to be independent! I want to be free! _

Alfred remembered those were the very words he had yelled to Arthur when he had started his revolution to be independent.

Slowly, Alfred lifted his head to see Catherine's wistful, teary face, simply wondering if Arthur had seen that same expression on Alfred's face when he first petitioned his own freedom.

"Free," Alfred echoed. He thought to himself, remembering that Arthur had turned him down when he wanted something. Now that one of his own wanted something, who was he to turn her down? If Alfred were to restrict the freedoms of his own colonies, he would be just as guilty of the same things that Arthur was.

And if there was something Alfred didn't want, it was to be just like Arthur.

Alfred turned around to face Catherine, thinking to himself how much he would regret later what he was about to say.

"So you want to join the hero's cause, huh?" He asked. "Catherine Jones, Colony of Delaware… I hereby draft you into the Revolutionary Militia solely for your… enthusiastic and mutual spirit of heroism and freedom. Report to the training facilities at 0-800 tomorrow. …I will show you the ropes there."

Catherine's eyes widened at what she had just heard.

"You'll really let me join?" she asked, looking up at Alfred.

"That's right," replied Alfred. "So, where do we start?"

"Uh... let's start with the part where Alfred nearly gets killed by a nineteen-year-old, hundred-pound girl, 'cos I don't think that's ever getting old." Alexander chimed in.

A shadow passed over Alfred's face as he turned to Alexander, who gulped, immediately regretting what he just said.

"Captain Alexander, for desecrating the hero, no dinner for you for a week." Alfred spoke in a low voice. _It was worth it,_ Alexander thought, grinning, as Alfred turned back to Catherine.

"As I was saying, we start tomorrow at 0-800. Report to the training facilities near Trenton. Don't be late." Alfred said, as he turned to depart.

"Yes, sir!" Catherine cheerfully responded, saluting Alfred as he left. She had actually done it.

She turned to Jonathan, lying in his cot, as she put on the uniform jacket that she had originally sewn for him. No doubt, there was no way that Jonathan would ever approve of what she was doing, but since he wasn't saying anything (because he was still unconscious), Catherine gave it no thought. "You just rest and be safe, Jonathan," she spoke softly, putting on the uniform, and smiling with a faint tear in her eye. "My turn now."

Alexander watched as Alfred mounted his horse, ready for departure. As he handed Alfred the last of his bags, he looked back at Catherine and Jonathan.

Alfred then broke the silence.

"Stubborn, nervous, reckless, self-centered, and can't quit." Alfred sighed. Alexander looked at Alfred, surprised. But then a smile broke out on Alfred's face. "I see Jonathan finally found a girl just like him," he finished as he rode off.

_She does all this for your well being? That ridiculous girl is willing to go to war to keep you safe, ignoring all the danger? All that concern for you? _Alexander thought.

_Then you're an incredibly lucky guy, Jonathan. _

And after the most interesting turn of events that day, even Alexander couldn't help but smile as well.

**XxX**

To be continued…

**Author's Note:** Whoa! You made it to the end of the first part! As you can tell, we included several movie allusions, the total being Tron: Legacy, Captain America: The First Avenger, Serenity, and Green Lantern.

Thanks so much for getting this far, we hope you enjoyed this first part!


	2. You Can't Take The Skies From Me

Catherine's Story, Part II: You Can't Take The Skies From Me

Characters / Human Name List:

America: Alfred F. Jones

Delaware: Catherine Minner Jones

Male!Delaware: Jonathan

Male!New York: Alexander

New York: Alexis Turner

England: Arthur Kirkland

The following day at the facilities near Trenton, Alfred was beginning to worry.

He had been making a plan with his captains and commanders that would take place that Christmas night, for a very long time, and just now he was beginning to feel apprehensive about it.

Alfred intended to capture a large outpost of Hessian soldiers by crossing the Delaware River and taking them by surprise that night. Planning had been going on for a long time, and he and his colonies had prepared for this event, and everything was ready. Until Catherine showed up.

Admittedly, Alfred mentally conceded that the girl had done a fairly good job with regard to her appearance as a male; her hair was tied back in a bow, with the hat covering some of her bangs. Her self-tailored uniform jacket was also loose around her chest, and as Alfred handed her a sword and rifle, her image was mostly complete.

He was going to have to show her the absolute basics of the war in a matter of hours, and even with Alexander's help, it was proving to be a formidable challenge, as he found out when the trio arrived at a practice firing range.

Looking around, Catherine noticed the training grounds to be relatively vacant. Only occasionally did she see several soldiers carrying supplies and boats around, as if they were preparing for something important. Catherine tried to guess what it was, but then thought it would be better to focus on what she was doing now.

She hefted up a rifle, holding it still awkwardly despite her slight knowledge of the gun. Once she got a better handle on it, she aimed the rifle towards the target, and looked down the length of it towards the mark.

"Don't be overdramatic. Just hold it as steadily as you can, you have all the time in the world for the shot," suggested Alfred, taking aim with his own weapon, as well as holding Catherine's hand up on the trigger. Catherine nodded, as she braced her legs and fired.

The shot went slightly wide, as the rifle's recoil pushed Catherine's body backwards, as she nearly tripped the way she had last night at the hospital. The bullet had sailed past the target, leaving an indent in a hill behind it. She frowned and lowered the weapon, eyes still locked on the target.

"You're pulling the trigger. You should be squeezing it, not pulling it. And don't keep your legs rigid, let them bend a little bit," Alfred continued as he fired his own shot straight into the vicinity of the target, piercing the target near-perfectly.

Nodding, Catherine had another go, taking in all the advice she had heard. Slowly, she prepared herself for the shot by calming down, heeding Alfred's advice of having all the time she needed; all the time in the world.

Once more, she fired and hit the target, but the bullet still missed the bulls-eye by a wide margin. But it was still progress. Still, she frowned as she lowered the weapon again, sighing.

"Too soon. But that was close!" Alfred conceded, pointing at the hole in the target. "Trust me, if all of my soldiers learned as fast as you, we would have won by now."

Catherine smiled slightly upon hearing that, but it wasn't enough for her. Quickly, she raised the rifle one more time, and pedantically went through her steps to ensure the shot's success, and closing one eye, she squeezed the trigger.

When she lowered it, she peered at the target, seeing a hole next to the bulls-eye, not far from Alfred's shot. She grinned and silently congratulated herself. To be sure it was not beginner's luck, she fired two more shots at the target using the same procedure she had used, with similar luck each time.

"It's almost scary how… an East-Coast girl… who can't sew… and can barely lift that weapon… is that good with a gun." Alexander observed.

"All of those years I took sewing and cooking classes…" Catherine grinned as she cocked the rifle, aiming at the target. "I may have been wasting my time."

Catherine lowered the weapon and turned to Alfred. "Commander Jones, why did you let me join so easily? If you truly didn't want me to join, I would not be here now."

"Always straight to the point, huh, Catherine?" Alfred sat down and put a hand on his head.

Catherine watched as Alfred leaned backwards and forwards in his seat. "I saw the same thing in you that I saw in Jonathan when I first recruited him. You're not someone who everyone turns to when you walk into a room. You're not a military tactician. You're not even strong enough to hold onto a gun when it recoils! But…"

Alfred leaned in closer. "_You're a hero_. That's what I saw in you last night."

"Yes, if I truly didn't want you to join, I wouldn't have let you. I don't want to lose you to England again, and women are not allowed in the Militia. But I believe you bring that spirit to the fight. I believe you can show Arthur I made the right decision."

**XxX**

The three practiced for several more hours that day, going over the sparse military routines and strategies that they had created so far. Later in the day, though, Alfred announced his battle plan to Catherine, as the entire army seemed to be getting ready for something. Lately, he and his captains had created a plan that was to take place on Christmas night.

"It is a simple ambush," Alfred explained to Catherine. "There is a Hessian quarters near Trenton, and we are going to capture them. This should be a safe and relatively easy mission, so I expect there will be no casualties. Tonight, we'll row there across the Delaware River and take them by surprise."

Catherine was taken aback by this plan. That must have been the reason all the soldiers were preparing for something. Was she going to war so soon?

She found out.

Alfred, standing near the riverbanks, surveyed the soldiers carrying the crates and weapons into the canoes along the twilight winter skies. Everything seemed to be finalized and he approached one of the bigger boats, as the soldiers filed into their own vessels.

As the soldiers pushed off the shore, Alfred beckoned Catherine and Alexander into the same boat, as he rummaged through the supplies for a long wrapped pole. The two boarded and set off. Catherine felt another of her headaches approaching, feeling apprehensive of her first experience of war, and did her best to dismiss it, as Alfred handed her the packaged long object.

"Here, take this," Alfred hurriedly said as he stood up and handed Catherine her a long, wrapped up pole once the boat was steady and moving forward. "Unwrap it and hold it up, so that the other boats can follow us."

Catherine unwrapped the black cloth on the pole, and found a huge red, white, and blue flag attached to the pole underneath. Steadying herself on the small boat, she unfurled the flag and raised it in the air as Alexander steadied the lower part of the flagpole on the bottom of the boat.

The air was quiet and there was a tense feeling in the air as the soldiers rowed farther through the icy Delaware River. Nevertheless, Alfred was standing with one leg up on the rickety boat, as the soldiers watched him, with only the sound of the American flag fluttering in the moist air.

Catherine and Alexander looked back and saw the other Revolutionary boats through the hazy grey mist, quietly rowing through the dark morning. She wondered how many of the soldiers she would see harmed in this attack on the Hessians, and whether or not she would get hurt, too. Was this a good idea? And were the other soldiers as worried as her?

She tried to dismiss her second-guessing, as it was far too late to turn back now. Better to just focus on holding up the flag now, and support as much as she could.

Alfred, who was standing in the meanwhile, was worrying over his own problems. He had brought Catherine into the same boat so he could keep an eye on her, as he was still very worried about risking his colony. The thought of this ambush also worried him a lot. In his ambushes in the past, they were either complete successes or complete disasters. This was not how he wanted to spend Christmas Day, and he doubted the soldiers wanted to spend it this way, too.

And then he thought about Arthur. Forever, he had tried to make Arthur listen, with Alfred's attempts at negotiation throughout the war. **Even a formal declaration of his grievances to Arthur wouldn't move him**. _Did it have to end this way, Iggy? _Alfred thought. _With blood and war?_

His thoughts were finally interrupted by a Captain from Massachusetts by the name of William, who stood in another boat behind Alfred. As William lowered a spyglass from his eyes, he pointed through the dark mist. Alfred squinted, and saw exactly what William was pointing at: the shore.

_This is it_, Alfred thought, as he signaled to the other boats to come ashore. One by one, each of the boats landed silently ashore, as the soldiers unloaded themselves and prepared their weapons for the fight.

Alfred disembarked too, looking far out to the grey landscape to the buildings they would soon be infiltrating. Now, he could only hope that they were prepared, as the soldiers kept unloading the weapons and supplies to capture the Hessians.

Finally, he turned to face his forces. "Right. You all know me, so you know I have the utmost faith and confidence that we can do this. This is our time to shine for our freedom. William, take your forces and organize near the west side of the buildings. Alexander, you take yours and come with me. We'll infiltrate from the north."

William nodded, as he began to lead his fraction of the army to the indicated location. Catherine, looking back and forth, decided to follow the soldiers following Alexander, as she was still unsure of what to do. Alfred caught sight of her, and he walked up to her.

"Keep close to Alexander or me," he said in a low voice. "Just aim the rifle and do your best to capture them."

Everything was now in place, Alfred knew. He drew his sword and held it high in the Christmas air, as the forces ran into the buildings to capture the Hessians.

Soldiers kicked down doors, started yelling, and fired threatening shots. But as Catherine and Alexander ran into one of the buildings, they found that there was barely any need to.

The Hessians were mostly asleep or intoxicated! Only a few were actually putting up a fight. Alexander grinned as he threw himself into a large room, brandishing his rifle at the heads of their prisoners. A few people charged at Alexander with unloaded rifles as clubs, but he simply laughed and smacked them across the head with his own.

"Ha ha ha! It's like they're all tired from Christmas!" Alexander yelled to Alfred as he downed one more Hessian soldier. Catherine saw this and felt some newfound confidence, as she, too jumped into the fray, batting away at tired soldiers.

The Revolutionary forces wasted little time in rounding up the Hessians from that building. After assigning a soldier to keep guard over the captured soldiers, Alfred moved onto the next house, capturing more and more people. Even Catherine led the way in charging into a room and forcing the Hessians to surrender, as the sun began to shine overhead.

In no time at all, the Hessian outpost was completely subdued, and the Revolutionary soldiers were beaming in pride. Alfred, too, couldn't help but feel a surge of glory from their sudden victory.

"It is a glorious day our country!" Alfred boomed, as the soldiers cheered. He made no effort to quiet them, as it was a victory and celebration that had long been overdue. Hats being thrown in the air, he continued.

"This was a tremendous victory for us! And that means we are that much closer to our freedom," Alfred continued, addressing the soldiers. He knew he was being blatantly nationalistic, but he felt pride was the appropriate tone. "So, my fellow heroes, I now must ask of you, who is willing to continue our endeavor for freedom? Who can help ensure our future of prosperity?" Excited chatter erupted from the soldiers, as they considered continuing the fight.

"I'll come!" a female voice spoke.

Every soldier turned to the voice and gasped as Catherine stepped forward. Immediately, the soldiers were whispering amongst themselves and eyeing Catherine with surprised eyes. _Is that a woman? Did Commander Alfred know about this? How did she get in? She's kinda cute… What is going on?_

Catherine smiled as she turned and stood beside Alfred.

"I'm going to defend the land I love! But I can't do it alone. So who's coming with me?" She addressed the stunned soldiers.

A voice declared "Count me in too!" It was Alexander, who stepped forward and stood beside Alfred as well. Alfred smiled as the two stepped next to him.

One by one, the soldiers slowly walked forward to stand beside them as William and Alexander had stepped forward. Soon, every soldier was briskly walking up to join Alfred, Catherine, and Alexander, cheering to shake the grey skies.

Throughout the cheering and hat throwing, Alfred looked up at the regal grey winter skies. Soon they would be free skies, he thought. It was only a matter of time.

"I can't wait to be free," he smiled and held his hand up in the air, reaching for the skies, as the soldiers cheered. "Be afraid, Iggy! We will be free!"

**XxX**

Publically revealing that she was a woman to the soldiers was not proving to be a good idea, Catherine found out over the next couple of weeks. Wherever she walked, many sets of eyes followed, and they weren't always approving eyes. She hated the strange gazes she got everywhere. Especially the ones aimed at her face and her long legs.

Once, even a Commander from Pennsylvania below Alfred told her she was kicked out of the war altogether, because it was considered "Eighteenth-Century Etiquette" to remove a woman from war the moment she was exposed (another mannerism of the "Eighteenth Century" was to negotiate before a war, which Alfred had tried to not much avail). Luckily, Alfred, and some friendly soldiers from Delaware she became friends with supported her.

Maybe it was her paranoia, but she still felt insecure at any hushed conversation she saw. Catherine tried not to be intimidated by any of the unfriendly looks she got from the other soldiers, and nor was she that intimidated by the soldiers themselves; she was easily taller than half of them, anyway. Still, she felt uncomfortable wherever she walked, as if she was being observed like an outcast.

_Outcast_ was the right term, she thought. Her only consolation was that Jonathan was on the path to recovery, as reported by Alexander and Alexis. Alfred had taken her to visit him on a few occasions, as Jonathan sat upright and tired on the hospital bed with a blanket about his shoulders. Still, thinking about his condition made her feel sickly, too, as she sat in one of the cafeterias.

"Look, it's Catherine the Great, the Queen of Prussia!" one especially disrespectful soldier howled in laughter, with his friends bursting out loud with him, while she was drinking tea to suppress her fever in a cafeteria in the training grounds.

This wasn't the first time she had heard that joke. None of the soldiers, except Alexander knew her name, so she knew it had to be a coincidence that the first enlightened female ruler in Eastern Europe shared her first name. Obviously, many still had qualms about a female ruler.

"I thought I signed up to kill some redcoats, not the Eastern European drama!" the soldier continued, as his friends laughed even harder. Not in her best mind, she finally became fed up with ignoring and walked up to confront the soldier.

Sword at her side, she stood to the disrespectful soldier. He then stood up, himself, and she immediately cursed her impulsive judgment. Even though Catherine was tall, this soldier still towered above her by a few inches. This was not going as well as she had hoped, as she wished that Jonathan or Alexander were there to help her out. But they weren't. She'd have to get out of this herself.

"What, you want to dance, love? I got a few moves in mind for when the lights go out…" he teased, as some of the other soldiers "oooh"-ed and chuckled amongst themselves. Catherine accidentally puffed out her cheeks, a little, which turned scarlet.

Flustering at the laughter, she slapped the soldier in the face as hard as she could. She lowered her hand, sweating and gasping in embarrassment.

"OW!" The soldier rubbed his now-red face, grinning as he took hold of her hand. "Nice try, your Majesty, but you still slap like a boy—"

He didn't realize he had relaxed his guard. Before he could finish, Catherine had already punched the soldier in the face with her free hand, causing his head to collide with the wall behind him. The force of the punch was not great, but because the soldier was not prepared for it, his head went reeling.

"WHAT THE HELL, YOU STUPID GIRL!" the bleeding soldier yelled as he grappled her wrists and shoved Catherine against a table. "You're really going to regret that!"

The soldier backhanded her face as she fell backward. However, she managed to grasp the soldier's lapel, which brought him down, too. They both fell, causing a big mess of cutlery, flying glass shrapnel and broken plates, not to mention their blood from the pieces. Catherine managed to make it to her feet faster, as she kicked the soldier once in the face as he got up.

Once steady on his feet again, the soldier shoved Catherine to one of his friends, who held her arms back, as he approached her threateningly. She was trapped. The soldier landed a smiting blow on the side Catherine's bleeding face and prepared for another, grabbing Catherine's collar.

"You're not cut out for this, let alone _war_, you stupid slu—"

But before they could continue, a gunshot filled the room.

Everyone turned to see the source of the noise; it was Commander Alfred, who held a rifle, aimed at the ground in the silence of the room. He cocked the gun and reloaded it, as he walked in with a very grave look on his face. Approaching the soldier, he still had the rifle aimed at the ground.

The soldier let go of Catherine and advanced threateningly on Alfred. But before he could take any more steps, he heard a handgun click at the side of his head. Moving his eyes, he could see that Alexander, who had been in the room for some time, held it with two hands unwaveringly against the soldier's face.

Alfred then broke the silence with five quiet words to the soldier: "You are relieved of duty."

The soldier opened his mouth to talk, but Alexander pulled the hammer back on his handgun, ready to fire if need be. But he didn't, as the soldier walked away in silence.

Everyone stared as he stormed out of the room.

"It took all of you to merely pick on one girl?" Alfred asked, gesturing to the friends of the disrespectful soldier. "That's low." None of them said anything; they only looked down in shame.

Then, Alfred turned to Catherine. "Come with me," he said quietly, leading her into a separate room. He closed the door behind them and walked over to a desk.

"Picking fights on your first days…" Alfred sighed. "You know, you set yourself up for this. I was the one who even tried to talk you out of it, because I knew this would happen." Alfred sat down again and leaned back in his chair.

"I cannot have soldiers that are busy killing each other, even if they were being unfair to you."

Catherine knew there wasn't much else she could say in this kind of position. "…I understand, Sir. And… I'll take full responsibility for what happened," she answered.

Alfred got up with some papers in his hand. "Good," He responded. "Because we're going to need unity now, more than ever. I intend to end this war now."

Catherine raised her head in surprise. "What?"

Opening a doorway into another hall, Alfred gestured. "Follow me and I'll explain on the way."

**XxX**

"Even though we are united against one common enemy, the soldiers from the different states still treat each other like foreigners," Alfred explained as they walked through the brownish hall. "Have you noticed you can only seem to make good friends with Delaware soldiers? It's because you are one of them, yourself."

She had noticed, actually. Although she had friends from other states, most of them were from a common state. "Each state has different standards. For example, that one Commander from Pennsylvania tried to discharge you from the Militia. Anyway, we cannot have any more of that because we will need to stand together to beat Arthur."

Alfred opened another door, leading to an enormous room, where there were was all of the important people involved in the Revolutionary War. Commanders, Captains, everybody. Alexander got up from a table and joined them as they walked to the center of the room.

"Stay here for a second," Alfred said, holding up his hand to Catherine and Alexander. Alfred walked over to the large table where there sat two European-looking men, whom Alfred greeted. One of them was a French blonde, long-haired man wearing blue and white, but still looked different from the Revolutionary soldiers. The other was a dark-haired Spanish-looking man, who wore a red jacket and an insignia with the Spanish Royal family crest.

Alexander motioned to the Spanish man, saying, "He is Antonio Hernandez—" but before he could finish, the French man smiled and got up from the table and walked to Alexander and Catherine. Before Alexander could react, the French man ran up and hugged him extremely tightly, saying:

"Alex Turner~ How have you bee—"

"GET Off me, Francis Bonnefoy!" Alexander snapped, pushing Francis – _So that was his name,_ thought Catherine – back as hard as he could. Turning to Catherine, he continued. "You'd best steer clear of him; he… has a way with people…"

Francis too turned to Catherine, who immediately took a step back. "You know Alexander?" Francis asked, grinning. "What's your name, _mon_ _chere_?" He asked as he immediately glomped her from behind, but then he realized something was wrong as his arm was on Catherine's chest.

"Wait…" Francis said, looking _oddly disappointed for some perverted reason_, Catherine thought, as he let Catherine go. "You're a girl? I thought only boys were allowed to enlist! Who knew there would be such a fair young lady here…"

Seeing Catherine's confused and panicked red face, Alexander chimed in whispering in her ear. "I know what you're thinking right now, Catherine, and yes, you're right."

Francis regained composure and bowed to Catherine. "_Bonjour, Mademoiselle. _Francis Bonnefoy, leader of the great nation of France, at your service," he smiled, speaking with a flawless French accent, taking Catherine's hand, and leading her to the table like a French aristocrat. "Ze pleasure is mine."

As they walked to the table, Francis grinned, saying "_Je vois que je suis toujours le seul ici qui sait comment traiter une femme jeune et belle…vhere are your mannehrs, Alfled?" _He teased.

Antonio, after being greeted by Alfred, noticed the arrival of Catherine and Alexander, too. Standing, he greeted Alexander in a similar way to the way Francis greeted Alexander, only expressing a grand "Buhyoo~"

He then turned to Catherine, smiling, as he took her hand and kissed it. "Antonio Hernandez-Carriedo, _mi linda hija. Encantada._" Catherine shyly smiled back, wondering what they had said (_I only know Latin! _She thought), as they sat down.

Alexander took a seat next to Catherine and said, "They are the leaders of France and Spain, and they are going to help us win the war. Alfred and those two drew up a plan to trap Arthur into checkmate. They are bringing the French Fleet and the Spanish Armada to the shores while we will get them on the land."

At that time, Alfred stood up and clapped his hands loudly. Everyone turned to face him then, as Francis and Antonio stood up, too.

"Okay!" Alfred declared as the room quieted down. "This is the plan! Our Revolutionary forces are currently forcing Arthur and the Redcoats back to Yorktown!

"We need to join the forces to push Arthur to the coast, where the French Fleet and the Spanish Armada will force Arthur into a bottleneck. We are going to trap him between us! Then we will have our freedom that we deserve!"

The crowd of Captains erupted in cheer. Alfred pointed to a diagram of the battle plan, showing how the Militia would force the opposition backward, and how the European fleets would trap the English.

"Of course," Alfred continued, **thinking back to his thoughts while crossing the Delaware River**. "As we have tried in the past, we will once more try to negotiate with Arthur before to try to prevent bloodshed. Any soldier who finds Arthur first, do the normal procedure for an armistice."

"And if we can't negotiate a peaceful end to the war like the way we've tried…" Alfred's expression hardened a bit. "We'll force Arthur to surrender. That's what these gentlemen are here to help us do," he gestured to Antonio and Francis, as Francis visibly relished the thought of getting to give Arthur a smiting for once.

_That's strange,_ thought Catherine. _Soldiers try to peacefully sort out a conflict before going to war? _Immediately, she remembered the "Eighteenth Century Mannerisms" lesson that one; women were kicked out of the army the moment they were revealed, and two; opposing forces negotiated before potential battles to attempt avoiding bloodshed.

"I want you all to disperse and meet here, at this rendezvous point," Alfred said, pointing to Yorktown and a nearby hill on a map. "Here is where we will surround Arthur and win!"

"This hill is where we meet Arthur. If we can keep him from advancing anywhere farther than this hill, we will be able to trap him," Alfred motioned to that same hill. "I want all troops to report there tomorrow! We'll have Arthur there!"

**XxX**

The very next day, Catherine and Alexander, at the orders of Alfred, were leading a faction of soldiers throughout Northern Virginia to where the battle would take place, on the hill. All felt trepidation of ending the war with Alfred, but they were confident.

They had encountered very little resistance, with only a few outlying British soldiers lining the paths. It seemed as if Arthur was coalescing his troops as well…

Still, if all went as planned, they would meet up with Alfred at the hill, and with luck, the French and Spanish armadas would arrive at the same time to surround Arthur.

"There's the rendezvous point, the hill," Alexander pointed off to the distance, as they approached the top of the hill. "Looks like we're first. I hope we'll be meeting with Alfred and the others shortly."

Beyond the hill, they could see, below the horizon, the masts of the French Fleet and Spanish Armada, courtesy of Francis and Antonio. To the untrained eye, they were still out of the range of visibility, but were approaching quickly, as Alexander knew. _We only have to wait a little longer,_ thought Catherine, as the small group reached the top of the hill.

But it would not be that easy.

In the path stood the familiar figure of Arthur Kirkland, leader of the English, standing authoritarian in front of them, rifle glistening in his hand. Behind him stood the Redcoats, ready to take them on.

One of their own soldiers moved forward, as if to take on Arthur, but Alexander held him back.

"Not now," he said, and approached Arthur, with Catherine.

"Arthur, you know Alfred doesn't want to do this," Alexander began, taking heed to Alfred's orders for negotiation.

"Of course not," Arthur returned. "It never had to end this way. You could have just been my colonies once more."

"I did everything for Alfred! Everything he ever asked! I fed him, raised him, everthing!" Arthur continued, arms outstretched and taking a step forward. "He wants to criticize me for being away so often? Alfred doesn't understand the demands of being a country! He won't make it on his own!" Arthur drew his sword.

"He's not alone!" Catherine asserted, walking up to Arthur.

"Hm? You're a woman?" Arthur remarked. "Since when did Alfred rely on a woman for negotiations?"

"He's not a kid anymore," she continued. "He can take care of himself, Arthur!"

Arthur looked down and motioned, looking back to the Redcoats behind him, as they assumed a formation, poised to fire on his command. He looked back at Alexander, Catherine, and the Revolutionary soldiers, who were all once people he had sworn to raise and protect.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing more to discuss. I'm taking my little brother back, until he can fend for himself. He is not ready for the world, and most of all, he does not understand the gravity and responsibility that comes with being a country."

Immediately, Arthur lashed out with his sword, as Alexander narrowly avoided the sword stroke. At the same time, though, the Redcoats formed behind him fired warning shots at the Revolutionary soldiers.

In no time, the soldiers were behind trees for cover, some bleeding from the shots, while others began returning fire to the Redcoats. Alexander had circled behind a large tree for a clean shot, as Catherine dragged herself behind the same one after she finished firing back.

Alexander was about to get ready to return fire, but he immediately noticed Catherine, who lay collapsed against the tree, clutching her leg, which was stained red.

"AAGH…" She exclaimed, face flushed and in pain. "My leg's grazed…!" She managed to stand up despite the pain, propping herself against the tree, but stumbled a bit, catching herself on the trunk.

Taking note of her medical knowledge, she tore a piece of cloth from her uniform and suppressed the bleeding, as Alexander helped by taking out water to clean her wound.

"Can you walk?" He asked, putting septic to her wound.

"—I think so," She responded. "Can't run, though."

Alexander looked around as he saw some soldiers fall, and at Catherine. This situation was shaping up very badly. Alfred's plan involving the French and Spanish was going to fail if they lost this hill, and Alexander knew that they were on the verge of losing already. Assessing the situation, he spoke up, finally.

"We lost," he mused. "We have got to retreat and regroup with Alfred, wherever he is. This plan is doomed to fail if he doesn't show up very, very soon."

After returning some wide shots toward the direction of the Redcoats, he came back behind the tree to Catherine, who noticed something, looking to the distance. Immediately, she got Alexander to look in the same direction.

"Look!" She exclaimed, pointing over the hills, at what appeared to be a wave of blue-clad soldiers. "It's Alfred!" Looking past the Redcoats in the opposite direction, Alexander could see the French and Spanish ships approaching as well.

"We need to direct Alfred here, to where Arthur is," Alexander said. "He can end the war with Arthur. It seems it's our only option now-"

_BOOM_

He was cut off by a huge explosion from a nearby Redcoat cannon, which pushed them back in a flurry of force and flying shrapnel. The gunfire had ceased, then, silence permeating the hill, as the cloudy skies began to rain.

When Alexander picked himself after an eternity off the ground, dizzy, he noticed his shoulder was now deeply bruised by the side of a stray piece of wood.

"Catherine? Are you o—" He gasped. Looking down at her, she was bleeding heavily on her shoulder, as well as a part of the tree trunk that had landed on her already wounded leg.

"Oh my goodness," He whispered as he helped her to her feet, taking clean clothes to cover her bleeding body. She wobbled, grasping her sword for stability. Alexander looked at Alfred, who still seemed far away.

"We _really _need to retreat now," he said, supporting her with his shoulder. "Can you walk enough to retreat?

"I-I can't walk far." She gasped. "Go. Bring Alfred here yourself, so this war can be over. …I'll hold Arthur off as long as I can."

"But I can't bring you! You're hurt! And you can't hold Arthur off on your own!"

"Well…" she looked down. "_I'll do as much as I can._" She thought back to when she was simply sewing back in her warm house, merely dreaming of contributing more for her freedom. _At least… I can tell now I've truly helped my cause. _"A certain nation taught me that. Just get him! Hurry!"

Alexander nodded hesitantly, mentally noting to get a doctor immediately, as he ran as fast as he could to the wave of blue soldiers he saw. Catherine watched him go, as Arthur aimed his rifle at the fleeing Alexander.

As quickly as she could, Catherine drew her sword and struck the Englishman by surprise, who dropped the rifle, bleeding on the arm. Still finding it difficult to walk, she stumbled forward and confronted Arthur, who immediately struck at her with his own sword in his non-wounded hand.

She parried just in time, looking into Arthur's eyes. Instead of malice, she simply saw sadness, as it pained him to be fighting his own colonies.

"I won't spare you mercy, girl! You and Alfred won't ever understand the gravity of war and the responsibility of being a country!" Arthur yelled through the rain as they parried each other's strikes once more.

"Let it go, Arthur!" She responded, returning sword strokes and firing her rifle, as the remaining Revolutionaries still continued the bitter fight. Swinging and firing, she too fought on, feeling the merciless strain of every blow she took and landed.

"He can be his own nation-" She was cut off as Arthur's sword pushed her own out of the way, and Arthur struck her backwards, to where she almost tripped over her bloody leg. Recovering as quickly as she could, her vision blurred from the attack. She clutched her seemingly-burning head, hoping that Alexander would have Alfred on the scene soon.

Looking back again, she saw the soldiers were approaching faster, and the French and Spanish ships were closing in on the beach. As she continued fending off Arthur, her body was screaming in pain as she felt the shocks from Arthur's sword strikes, but it was only a matter of time now.

Just hold out the fight for a little more, she told her aching bones. _She only had to wait a little longer._

But then a sharp pain ravaged through Catherine's head. She was coming down with a fever from the rain and strenuous effort as her skin flushed once more. Her knees buckled and she coughed, bringing her arm down to cover her mouth.

She nearly dropped her sword, clutching her chest as she coughed up blood, scarlet staining the cuffs and sleeves of her jacket as she began to burn up. _Not now… I was so close…_

Arthur looked down at Catherine's fragile body, and glanced at his sword, but swiftly kicked her in the side, knocking her down. Her sword flew out of her hands and onto the dewed grass. Now on her hands and knees, she was completely subdued.

Arthur pointed his sword at her head and looked down in anger and sadness.

"See? Alfred. You. You can't survive without me!" He yelled. Catherine coughed once more, with blood following as she nearly collapsed. Covered in rain and sweat, she looked up at Arthur's wet face, thinking she saw a tear in his eye.

"You damned Yankees really are something," Arthur growled to the downed Catherine. "You can't survive without me! You'll never make it on your own!"

Arthur kicked Catherine's sword away when she tried to reach for it in the soggy grass. As she propped herself up to crawl for it, Arthur kicked her once more in her face, turning her over. She gasped for air through her bloody mouth. That was when Arthur realized it.

"Ah. You… are Catherine," He remarked observantly, able to discern her feminine face. "My very own Colony. First it was Francis, now Alfred relies on a woman to fight for him?" All this time, one of Arthur's most prominent opponents turned out to be one of his former colonies. _Why, Miss Jones? Why do you resist? _What was this world coming to?

He then began losing control. "Why? You've lost! You knew I'd beat you, and still, you did all this, for him?"

But then he heard a faraway noise. Looking past Catherine, he found a wave of blue-clad Revolutionary Soldiers, led by Alfred coming toward him and his men across the hills. He had little chance of staving them off from this point.

And that was not the sum of his worries. As he looked out to the coast, he saw Francis and Antonio's ships reaching the Harbors, cannons aimed towards the land. In a matter of minutes, he would be stuck between the Revolutionary Army, the French Fleet, and the Spanish Armada. He was trapped.

Looking back at Catherine and realizing her sacrifice, he managed to sputter out, "W-Why?"

Catherine raised her head and looked back at Arthur, gasping, "I'm a hero!"

Outraged yet hesitantly, Arthur aimed his rifle point-blank at Catherine with a shaking hand and fired. But his bullet landed in the ground several inches from her head. With that, Catherine managed to make a half-smile as Alfred and the Revolutionary soldiers arrived at the scene. "It's over," she whispered to herself, patting the earth. "It's over."

"Iggy!" A loud voice boomed. From what Catherine could see, it was Alfred, with his rifle level with Arthur's head, with Alexander directing a doctor to tend to Catherine.

"Hey Arthur… I'm chosing Liberty after all." Alfred pronounced, his rifle not wavering from Arthur's head. "I'm not your child or baby brother anymore. From now on, I'm independent!" Catherine looked behind Alfred and couldn't believe her eyes.

Assembled behind Alfred were the rest of the thirteen colonies! William, Martha, even Alexis was there, each with a rifle at the ready. They stood watch as the rest of the Revolutionary Militia disarmed the British Redcoats.

"Acknowledge it—" Alfred continued, but Arthur cut him off. He charged at Alfred with the bayonet of his rifle. Luckily for Alfred, he managed to dodge the lunge and block with the handle of his own rifle.

However, Arthur's attack pushed the rifle out of Alfred's hands, leaving a large scrape along the metal finish of the handle. With Alfred completely disarmed, Arthur took aim with his rifle.

"You were always so naïve, you fool! You don't have the strength to stand on your own!" Arthur yelled through the rain. The colonies assembled behind Alfred raised their rifles at Arthur as the Revolutionary soldiers readied their own weapons against the Redcoats.

But Arthur just stood, with his rifle aimed at Alfred's face.

After a seemingly endless time, Arthur tensed, and took the rifle out of Alfred's face, dropping it.

"I can't do it…" He gasped, letting go of the weapon. "You bloody fool…"

The rifle splashed into the wet ground as Arthur fell to his knees. "Dammit… WHY, Dammit…" he cursed as he brought his hands to his teary eyes. _How could I lose my own mere thirteen colonies? _

"_We're not thirteen colonies," Alfred had asserted._ "_We're one Country."_

"Arthur…" Alfred only looked on with sorrow at what he saw. He only could remember the times when they used to be so much closer.

"_Let's go home," Arthur had said once, as they joined hands and walked off into the sunset. Those memories seemed so far away now. _

"You used to be…" Alfred looked at Arthur, down on his knees, crying. "So big…"

**XxX**

Omake (Epilogue)

"Alexis told me everything."

Alfred and the recently-healed Jonathan were meeting Catherine in the hospice, where all the other wounded soldiers in the war were. Catherine was bandaged in the head, and had a splint over her leg.

"You're a real hero, Catherine." Alfred remarked, making a slight, honest smile appear on Catherine's face as he handed her a cup of tea and the worn letter that Alexander had originally given her. The war was over. The country was free.

"Ha…" She sighed. "That letter brings back memories. I can't believe I'm reminiscing my life like this already…" She took the cup and held the sepia letter next to Jonathan. "I must be getting old."

Alfred laughed a little upon hearing that. When it subsided, Jonathan smiled slightly and spoke.

"It means you're turning into an adult." Alfred, too, smiled, not realizing that Toris would one day tell him the same thing, many years later.

After spending half an hour talking to Catherine, Alfred left, leaving a vase of flowers, as well as a get-well-soon card. Jonathan remained beside Catherine, sitting at the foot of the bedside, simply enjoying each others' company.

_Was it not too long ago when our positions were reversed?_

Catherine only looked up through the windows to the bright, peaceful summer skies, and the birds flying above the free land. _…Free…_

"Draw a circle, that's the Earth, Draw a circle, that's the Earth," she sang softly to herself.

"…I am Delaware."

**The End**

_Author's Note:_

Yay! You made it to the end! Thanks so much for reading, we really hope you enjoyed. This part included a lot more Canon characters and references to Alfred Cleans Out His Closet.

Oh yes, here are some translations:

Francis said: "_Je vois que je suis toujours le seul ici qui sait comment traiter une femme jeune et belle…"_

Meaning: "I see I am still the only one here who knows how to treat such a fair young lady,"

Antonio said: "_Hola, mi linda hija. Encantada."_

Meaning: "Greetings, my pretty girl. Enchanted."

Again, thanks for reading, we hope you enjoyed. (Original Concept and Hetalia belong to Hidekaz Himaruya)

~Sentimeter233, Writer

~Procyonpaw, Original Story


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